Jan. 7, 2015
Jerry Mader, a new arrival in the South Whidbey community, has opened The South Whidbey Music Studio at his home in Freeland.
He is offering private lessons in classical violin, viola, piano, music theory and composition and has openings for students of all ages. Applicants with prior training must audition before being accepted for study. Adult beginners are welcome. However, he prefers beginners, especially pre-school. “Giving them a good start when they are young is my most rewarding teaching experience,” he said.
Mader has forty years’ experience as a professional classical musician, composer and teacher. He taught music composition and theory at the Cornish School of the Arts Preparatory program and was a chamber music coach in their summer program for high school students. He taught music and Humanities at the Northwest School, was a clinician for the Washington State Arts Commission’s Artist in the Schools program and a guest lecturer for the Seattle Opera Art in Education program.
He was also a Spectra Artist for the Santa Cruz County Cultural Council, Santa Cruz, CA where he designed multi-media creativity workshops for elementary schools. Through it all, he has always maintained a stable of private students and looks forward to continuing his teaching here in South Whidbey.
As a pedagogue, Mader did extensive research in behavioral modeling and learning processes at the University of California, Santa Cruz with Dr. John Grinder, linguistics professor and co-developer of Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP). NLP offers strategies that streamline skill acquisition and accelerate the general learning process. As a companion to the Suzuki and traditional methods, Mader believes NLP is an invaluable tool for cultivating musical excellence and artistry in students and professionals.
“When music education is a part of their curriculum,” Mader said, “children learn reading and writing, mathematics and the liberal arts more readily and tend to be overall better students. Since music is an inherently social art, playing in a symphony orchestra, concert band, or singing in a chorus improves students’ social skills and understanding of human relationships. They become good citizens with beautiful hearts. To that end, I hope to bring some inspiration and enthusiasm to my prospective students.”
As a composer Mader received commissions from the Northwest Chamber Orchestra, the Cascade Symphony, the Musica Viva Chamber Players and the Munich Radio Wind Quintet and the University of Washington Contemporary Music Group, among others. He composed scores for two documentary films on migrant workers’ children in Montana, that was funded by the US Department of Health, Education and Welfare as well as two educational films for Young Audiences Inc.
Mader founded the Kirkland Choral Society and was its director for the first seven years of its continuing tenure. He also worked as a freelance violist in the greater Seattle area and was assistant Principal violist for the Cascade Symphony.
“I am excited by the lively and diverse artistic activity in the South Whidbey community,” Mader said. “I’m looking forward to making a contribution to the impressive musical life I’ve been delighted to discover here and I look forward to meeting all the fine musicians on the Island.”
You may contact Jerry Mader for an appointment at: 425-361-8741 or email jerrymader69@yahoo.com.
